From knives hurled at him to persisting with a broken collarbone, the tales that put Franz Beckenbauer with Pele and Maradona as football’s greatest

He may not have conformed to the established archetype of a global phenomenon of a footballer – the likes of which came and since his time have come from Brazil and Argentina – but Franz Beckenbauer is one of the most important figures to have revolutionalised the sport in the 20th century. The German seemed natural on the ball and yet, his was a reputation grafted on hard work rather than god-gifted talent, on technique rather than skills.

In a world that had already witnessed Pele grace the field and was about to witness the greatness of a Diego Maradona, Beckenbauer instilled the value of practice and repetition – and yet, looking effortless. And it was in his elegant beliefs that the German football would craft its image in the years to come.

But for the boy who grew up in a bombed out and scarred Germany post the Second World War, the path to become the man who won it all was all but normal. After his passing at the age of 78, The Indian Express looks at five moments that made Der Kaiser a larger than life footballer.

Most honest teammate he had

The very origins of Beckenbauer’s ideology of repetition tell us all we need to know about one of the football’s most accurate central midfielder and defender. His ability to canvas pinpoint passes wasn’t shaped overnight. World Cup winner with Germany in 2014, Toni Kroos had famously conceded that he “used to count the number of times Beckenbauer would misplace a pass” from his old match footage. Not many would be an understated answer. How though?

Growing up in Munich, a young Beckenbauer would spend hours and hours kicking a ball against a brick wall. Years later he’d confess, “That wall was the most honest team-mate I could ever have wished for. Whenever you played a